The Way To State
by Future Ghost
Summary: Rollan is just a normal student, until his mom gets a new job and they have to move.On the first day of school Rollan gets into a fight. The principle hooks him up with the wrestling coach and Conor, a student athlete there. Conor then helps Rollan learn how to wrestle and get the girl of his dreams,Meilin.While Conor helps him, Rollan helps Conor get Abeke, a girl he likes.
1. Chapter 1

The Way To State

FrendlyLittleSpark8 is the owner of the original SA High School. Go check out that story, she is a great writer.

Rollans P.O.V.

"Mom, why again are we leaving?",i asked my mom as i loaded another box of stuff, labeled kitchen, into the moving truck.

"Because i need a new job and there is a great, high paying one where we are moving",said my mom as she loaded some small boxes into the truck.

"You still haven't told me where we are moving to",i said to her as i walked up to my house, my old house.

"I told you it is a surprise",she said as she smiled at me.

"The place we are moving to is a surprise",i said."We must be moving to the moon or some other planet like...Mars. Yay, i get to be the first person on Mars. Yeppty freakin' do".

"Ha ha, very funny mister",my mom said sarcastically."We have two more boxes and your backpack then we can get going".

I nodded and headed inside to take one last look at my house. This was the longest we ever lived somewhere. We lived here for 6 and i fourth of a year. I was here for all of middle school, them my freshmen and sophomore years. I was one-fourth done with my junior year when i heard we were leaving. My mom didn't tell me where we were going just that she got a new job and it was far away from here. When i went to school here i had maybe one or two good friends but no one else. I was a loner most of the years, it didn't really bother me because i was one of the best sport players in the town and in the school and because of that a lot of people liked me and always said hi to me.

I looked down at me feet to see two boxes and my black backpack. I put my backpack on and picked up one of the boxes while my mom came in and got the other.

"I'm going to miss this place",i told her as we walked out of the house.

"I am to, this was a good place but we have to go. We have a long drive to get to where we are going",my mom said as she picked up the other box and started to walk outside with me.

My mom closed the door behind us, she picked up the box again and started to walk to the truck. We put the boxes in the back and closed the back of the truck. I then walked around the back of the truck and got into the passenger side while my mom got into the driver's seat.

"What will happen when we get there?",i asked her.

"Well, when we get to the airport there will be some guys that will take all of the stuff from the truck onto a plane and meet us at the place we are going",she said.

"How long is the airplane ride?"i asked her.

"About 5 hours",she said.

"What is the house like?",i asked her.

"You will see when we get there",she said as she turned onto the highway.

"Can you tell me anything about where we are going?",i asked.

"It is a small town in a state that has really weird weather",she told me."Now quit asking and wait till we get there".

I opened my backpack and pulled out my phone and earphones. I put my earphones on and started some music. I then leaned my head against the window and fell asleep.

(All of the places in the story are real and i had to look up some of them. By the way they started in California. The reason i didn't make fake places is because i couldn't think of any)

I was woken up by someone shaking me. I opened my eyes to see my mom.

"We are at the airport",said my mom.

I got out of the truck with my mom. I saw two guys walking towards us. They stopped right in front of us.

"We can take it from here",said one of them.

"Thank you for doing this",said my mom.

"No problem ma'am",said the other guy as my mom and i walked towards the airport.

When we got into the airport there were lots of people. My mom and i took a left up some escalators. At the top of the escalators was security. After going threw all of that we gave our tickets to a lady and got on the plane.

I got the window seat.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying Delta. Please fasten your seat belts and only unbuckle them when the captain says you can. We will be arriving in-",before i could hear the rest my mom covered my ears.

When she moved her hands away she said",Buckle your seat belt".

"You really don't want me to know where we are going",i said to her as i buckled my seat belt.

"I told you i want it to be a surprise",she said as the plane started to take off.

Once we were in the air i put my earphones on and closed my eyes thinking that in 5 hours i will see my new home and get to start over, again…

5 hours later

I woke up right when the plane landed. I grabbed my backpack and followed my mom out of the plane. As i exited i saw nothing that was different. I followed my mom through the airport.

"Where do we get our stuff?"i asked my mom.

"We will get the truck and all of that stuff outside"she said as we walked to some double doors. We walked outside into the cold weather, which i wasn't used to.

"Why is it so cold here?",i asked her.

"Like i said before the weather here is strange",we walked up to the moving truck as the two guys got out.

One of them handed my mom the keys to the car. We both got in the truck. My mom started the truck and drove out of the pick up area. As we left i saw a sign that said Des Moines International Airport. Where is Des Moines?

"Hey mom where is Des Moines?"i asked her.

"It is where we are right now",she said as she took a right onto the interstate.

"What state?",i asked her.

"Iowa",she answered.(The reason i picked Iowa is because not a lot of people think of that state so it would be cool, i guess)

"Iowa, really?",i asked her.

"Yep but we aren't staying in Des Moines. We are going to a small town outside of Des Moines",she said."It is about an hour away maybe less if there is no traffic".

Time Skip

We came up to a sign that had 3 flags behind it. The U.S.A. flag, Iowa's flag, and a...blue jay flag. Below all of that is said Perry, Make Yourself At Home.

"So we are living in Perry, Iowa?"i asked her.

"Yep. This place isn't that bad i don't think",she said as we took a right and went down the main street.

Once we reached our house, which was about a mile and a half away from the school. The house was two stories and white. I got out of the car and walked up to the house. I opened the door which was unlocked and walked inside. Right when you walk into the house you are in the kitchen. On the right was a staircase that lead upstairs and on the left was a door that i was pretty sure lead to the basement. I walked threw the kitchen to a doorway that lead to the living room. On my right in the living room was another staircase. I walked up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a door right in front of me. On my left was 4 more rooms. I walked past two of them which was the big room and the bathroom. Past those rooms was one more bed room and then a door that lead to the attic. I walked into the second biggest bedroom that was in the house. I walked over to the window that was there and looked out it. Our back yard was pretty big. It had a cement slab that then had a pole on one side of it with a basketball hoop. Past that was just grass and a fence.

"Rollan come down here!"i heard my mom yell at me.

"Coming!"i yelled back down at her.

I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen."Mom where are you?"

"In the basement",i heard her say.

I looked at the door that was open. I walked down the stairs to the basement.

"Look at the basement",i heard my mom say.

The basement was pretty cool. It was like a living room that was down here. There was tons of space, two rooms, and a bathroom. There was even nice carpet and not cement.

"This is pretty cool",i said as my mom came out of one of the rooms.

"Well, what do you think of the house?"she asked me.

"It seems pretty good",i said.

"We better hurry up and get unpacked, you will start school tomorrow",my mom said.

"Yay",i said sarcastically.

The next chapter will be better than this one don't worry.


	2. Chapter 2

Rollans P.O.V.

I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock. I opened my eyes and swung my feet over the side of my mattress. My mom and i didn't have time to put up the bed frame for my bed so i just slept on the mattress.

I stood up and walked over to a box labeled cloths. I grabbed a pair of black jeans, a white Nike shirt, and a pair of long white socks. I then walked out of my room and to the bathroom. I took a shower and got ready. When i was done with that i ran downstairs.

When i got down there i saw that my mom already had breakfast ready.

"Are you ready for your first day at school?",my mom asked me.

"No",i simply answered as i sat down and began to eat the piece of toast in front of me.

"Well you need to get ready because you are going to be late and so am i",said my mom as she got up and walked into the living room.

"Hey mom can i drive myself to school?",i asked her as she can back into the room with a black backpack.

"Yeah but you are going to have to take the jeep while i take the Honda Pilot",said my mom handing me the black backpack.

"OK",i said as i grabbed the keys to the jeep off of the counter.

I gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek then left. I walked out and got into the car. I started the car and drove down the street. I then took a left and went straight to the school.

When i got to the school i parked in the lot in front of it. The school was made of orange-red bricks with yellow and a blue roof. On the front of the school it said Perry High School. I got out of the car, swung my backpack over my shoulder and started to walk towards the school..

When i got inside, on my right was the door to a library and on my left was the door to the office. In front of me was a glass case that held a copy of some documents. I turned to my left and opened the office door. I walked up to the desk that was in front of me. There was a lady that was sitting down.

"How may i help you?",she asked me.

"I'm a new student and i need my schedule",i said nervously.

"Oh, you must be Rollan. Well, Welcome to Perry. I will get your schedule printed now",with that she did something on her computer and walked away.

When she came back she handed me three pieces of paper.

"The first one is your schedule, the second one is the rules and guidelines of the high school and the third one is for your special classes and sports if you want to sign up for any sports. Also on the third sheet all you have to do is go to the special class you want to join and have them sign it. Then at the end of the day come back here and give that paper to me. You get to choose 4 special classes. Two each day and they will rotate on days. If you take this hallway that is by the glass case and take a right then take your first left you will go down that hallway and find all of your classes. Also the first door on your left when you take a left is the gym",she said.

"Thank you",i said as i left the office and took those instructions.

I looked at the paper that said all of my special classes that i could take. As i was looking through the classes i heard someone behind me laugh. Before i could turn around i was pushed into the wall. I turned around and saw a group of guys laughing at me.

"You must be the new kid",said one of them.

I nodded.

"Scared to talk maggot",one of them laughed.

"No",i said.

"Hey look...it speaks. Here kid let me tell you something",he said getting close to me. All of the sudden he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pushed me against the wall. He was a good 5 or 6 inches taller than me."I am the king of this school. Don't talk to me, Don't come near me. If you come near me or touch me...well, it won't be good".

Once he let go of me they all started to walk down the hallway. He seems friendly. I looked at me schedule again. My special classes were first. I decided to go to Computers and then gym.

I walked down the hallway to computers. It was the very last room on the left side of the hallway. I walked into the classroom to see that they had just gotten in there.

I walked over to the teachers desk. He was an older guy. About in his with gray highlights on the sides for his hair and he was about 6 feet and 5 inches.

He looked up and smiled."You must be the new student, Rollan is it?".

"Yeah",i answered.

"My name is Mr. Dearborn. You will be sitting in the last row the third seat from the end",he said as he pointed to where i was going to sit. He then handed me a computer bag."This is your personal computer. You have to pay for any damages done to it".

I got my computer and walked to where i was supposed to sit. Once i sat down Mr. Dearborn said,"Today we will be going over the computer basics of cheat codes as you guys will probably like to call them but really they are just shortcuts".

I really didn't pay any attention to what he was saying. We didn't get our computers out at all. When the bell rang i was the last one out of the classroom.

I walked down the hallway towards the gym. When i walked into the gym i saw bleachers on both sides. One of of the bleachers it said PHS in gray. There was a guy on my right sitting down with a desk in front of him and he was on his computer. I walked up to him. He looked up. He had on thin glasses. His hair was white. He looked about 60 or 70.

"My name is Rollan and i am a new student",i said to him.

He smiled and said,"My name is Mr. Long and i am your gym coach. The boys locker room is out that door and to the left. Then walk all the way down the hallway and take a left at the end. The first door on the left is the boys locker room".

I turned around and looked at a door that was across the gym. I walked over to the door. When i opened it i looked to my right and saw a hallway that was white. On the right side of the wall was records for basketball, softball, track and field, volleyball, baseball, and wrestling. On the left side of the wall were windows that looked into the weight room. I kept on walking.

When i got to the end of the hallway i heard laughter. I looked to my right to see those guys that had me pinned to the wall.

"Well, well...well look who we have here?",said one of them.

"Didn't i tell you to stay out of my way",said the guy who had pinned me against the wall.

"Look, I'm just trying to find the locker room and go to gym",i said to him.

"Guess what?I'm going to gym too",he said as two of his guys grabbed me by my arms."But only one of us will make it to gym".

He then punched me in the face. It stung a lot but nothing compared to a fight i got into when i was in 8th grade.

In 8th grade me and this kid got into a fight over a grade he got in school. I'm not used to getting high grades. From when i started sports i had to keep my grades up. If they went below a c then i didn't get to play sports. I have always had trouble in school with my grades. I not very good at any subject except lunch and gym. I'm not even sure if you can say that lunch is a subject. Anyway, this kid was bragging about his grades to me because he got straight A's and i got straight C's with one a from gym. I got mad at him and lets just say that shoots where fired. It ended up with him having a broken tooth and me having a broken nose. In my defense the fight wasn't even. He had 4 other people with him.

So yeah, getting punched in the face only stung. I felt some blood go down my face. He then kneed me in the stomach. The other two guys let go of me as the guy in front of me kicked me in the chest. I fell back against the wall. When i got back up i looked at him and wiped some of the blood off of my face. The two guys that were holding me came near me ready to throw punches. The one on the right threw the first punch. I grabbed his fist, kicked him in the shin and threw him against the wall. The second guy kicked me in the foot which made me lose my balance. Before i fell down i grabbed him by his legs and made him fall. He hit his head square on the hard ground. I looked up at the last guy to see him about to punch me. He hit me in the temple. Before he threw another punch i grabbed his fist and-

"What is going on here!",i heard someone yell.

I looked over to see Mr. Long looking at us.

"Why are they on the ground?",he asked looking at both of us."Well someone tell me now!"

Neither of us answered him."Follow me. NOW!".

We followed him to the office. When we got in there we passed by everyone to the last room. The principal's office. Mr. Long opened the door to the office and we all walked in. The room had two chairs in front of a desk. There was a guy sitting on his chair looking at some papers. He looked up at us.

"How may i help you Mr. Long?",he asked.

"Mr. Olvan, i caught these two fighting in the hallway. Two others were also in the fight but they were unconscious on the ground",said Mr. Long.

Mr. Olvan looked at us."Mark this is the fifth fight you have gotten into in less than a month. No matter how you say it was his fault, it is yours. You always start the fight and there is no way you are getting out of this one. You are secpendid for a month. Please leave and go to the secpention room".

Mark huffed and left but not without bumping my shoulder hard. I looked at the principal."Mr. Long you may leave and go to your class".

Mr. Long left the room.

"Please take a seat",he told me. I sat down in one of the chairs.

Mr. Olvan looked at his computer."I am looking at your record and it seems that you have a long history of getting into fights and having low grades. On average how many fights did you get into when you were in middle school?".

"A Lot",i told him as he kept looking on the computer.

"Did you ever do anything to help you with your grades?",he asked me.

"I usually asked my mom for help or the teachers. I never really got any of it. Even when my mom tried to help me i still didn't get it",i said.

Mr. Olvan picked up his phone and called someone."I think i have someone who can help you with your grades. I also have one other thing for you".

I heard a knock on the door.

"Come it",said Mr. Olvan.

A guy came in. He was short and had light brown hair. He looked young.

"Rollan i would like you to meet Mr. Kidelson. He is the wrestling coach for high school",said Mr. Olvan as i shook Kidelsons hand.

"Nice to meet you Rollan. I heard you are a fighter",he said.

"I get into fights a lot",i said to him.

"So you are strong",he said.

"I guess you could say that",i said.

"Have you ever thought about joining wrestling?",he asked me.

I shook my head."Well, i am always looking for someone new to put on the team that is strong but there is one flaw. I heard you have trouble with your grades and with people. I think i have someone who can help you with all of this. He is a junior like you. His name is Conor. He can help you with your problems with people while one of his friends who is one of the smartest people we know can help you with your grades",said Mr. Kidelson.

A guy walked in the door. He was tall and had blond hair, green eyes. His face looked friendly. He stuck out his hand.

"I'm Conor",he said.

"Rollan".

"Now, Rollan we will give you a couple of days to think about joining the team but for now you will be with Conor. You will have all of the same classes as him and he will introduce you to your new tutor",said Kidelson.

"You are both dismissed",said Mr. Olvan.

I followed Conor out of the room and the office.

"So since i have your schedule what class is next?",i asked him.

"Social Studies",said Conor.

"What specials do you have?",he asked.

"Art, choir, and gym",he said.

"What is your 4th special?",i asked him.

"Band",he said."Do you play any instrument?"

I shook my head."I have an extra trumpet at home you can borrow for when we have band",he said.

"So we are going to social studies now",i said.

"Yep and you get to meet your tutor in this class",he said.

"What is his name?",i asked.

"It is a girl",said Conor."Her name is Meilin."


	3. Chapter 3

Rollans P.O.V.

When we walked into the Social Studies room Conor said,"You can sit with me and two other people. One of them is Meilin".

I sat down next to Conor.

"What is the teacher's name?",i asked him as students walked into the room.

"Mrs. Iben. She is super nice",said Conor as the last of the students came into the room and sat down.

Two girls walked over to where Conor and i were sitting and sat down. One of them had dark skin and dark hair that was braided down her back. She also had milk chocolate eyes. The other girl had light skin and black hair that was in a ponytail and went down her left shoulder. Her face showed that she was tough but when i looked into her eyes everything looked different about her. Her eyes were a deep warm brown, that when you looked in them she seemed more gentle then she looked.

"Rollan, this is Abeke",Conor said gesturing to the girl that was sitting across from him,"and that is Meilin. Your tutor."

I shook hands with Abeke and looked at Meilin.

"You're the one i am tutoring?",she asked.

"Yeah, that's me",i told her as the teacher started to take the attendance.

"What are you grades?",she asked.

"Low C's sometimes D's. I try to keep my grade at a c because if i go lower than i can't play sports",i told her.

"Well i can't tutor you tonight because i have a basketball game but tomorrow we will start. You can come to my house or i came come to yours, which one will work?"

"You can come to mine",i said as the teacher started to talk.

For the whole class period Mrs. Iben talked about the Greeks. Apparently they were now learning about Greek mythology. As she was talking about the Olympics she said that the ones we will do will take place on the second to last week next month. When the bell rang i followed Conor out of the classroom and to our next class. Language Arts with Mrs. Southward.

The classroom was right next to us. When i walked in i sat down in the back with Conor. We were by the teachers desk in the second row. As i was watching kids come into the classroom i saw Abeke and Meilin both come in as well.

"Their also in this class?",i asked Conor.

"What, oh...yeah. They are in most of my classes except for math sometimes. Sometimes they are in there but they both work on algebra instead of just regular math because they good at math and I'm not",said Conor."They sit in front of us".

"What are we doing in this class?",i asked him as the girls sat in front of us.

I pulled my schedule out of my pocket and looked over it. Next i had lunch. Then science with Mr. Neighmyer, reading with Mrs. Coller, math with Mr. Horgan, and advisory with Mr. Hays.

"Don't worry, after this class everything else will go by fast except for math",said Conor.

After school i followed Conor to the gym. When we got there i saw that the stands were full.

"If they win this game then they will go to Johnston and go against Boone, if they win that then they will go to the first round for state. They had a record this year for being undefeated. They haven't been to state in 20 years",said Conor as we walked over to the students section and sat down.

"Who is the best player on the team?",i asked.

"The whole team is good but i would watch out for the point guard. She is an amazing 3 point shooter. So is the person who plays wing most of the time but does some post",he said.

"Who are they?",i asked him as the other team came out, Winterset Huskeys.

I turned to Conor as he smirked at me. Then i got it,

"You're kidding me right?",i asked him.

"Nope",he laughed."Meilin is the point guard and Abeke is wing/post".

"They're just everywhere aren't they",i told him.

"I guess you could say that",he said as the Perry team came out and the whole student section stood up.

As they were going by us i saw Mr. Long look at me. He then started walking towards me.

"I heard you are going out for wrestling?",he said.

"I'm not sure if i want to or not yet",i told him."Are you going to watch the game?"

"And coach it",he said."I am the Perry Jayetts coach".

"You're their coach?",i asked him,"What else do you do?"

"I also coach baseball",he said as he walked away and went over to his team.

"Mr. Long is pretty nice guy and a good coach unless you are on his bad side",said Conor as the ref blew the whistle and they got the game ready to start.

Abeke and a girl from Winterset got ready to jump for the ball. Meilin was 5 feet behind Abeke. The ref blew the whistle again and held the ball in the air above both of their heads. He then threw it straight up. Abeke got a hand on it and tipped it backwards to Meilin. Meilin then waited for the rest of the team to get down to the other end of the court. When she got down there a girl from the Perry team, number 24, screened the girl who was guarding Meilin. She then dribbled to the right where the screen was, passed it backwards to Abeke, Abeke passed it to number 15 who made the layup from the block.

They all ran down the court where Winterset got ready to do a play. Number 11 on Winterset threw the ball to number 38 who tried to shoot a 3 pointer but got blocked by Abeke. Abeke then passed the ball halfway down the court to Meilin who did a layup to make the score 4-0 Perry.

This game is going to get over quickly.

There was now 10 seconds left in the 4th quarter and Winterset had called a timeout. When they broke the timeout Winterset took the ball out. Number 38 passed it to number 11 who brought it up the court with 3 seconds left. She then threw the ball up at the basket but it missed. The buzzer went off and the whole crowd of people that are going for the Perry team erupted in cheers. The final score was 48 to 69.

I followed Conor out of the gym and to that white hallway that i had the fight by. By then the Jayetts came through the hallway. Abeke was the first one out. She stopped by us and jumped into Conors arms.

"Abeke you were amazing",said Conor when he put her down.

She smiled and walked down the hall as the rest of the Perry team came. Meilin was last. She stopped by us as Conor gave her a high five.

"Good job Meilin",Conor and i said.

"Thanks",she said as she turned to me."I heard Mr. Long say you were going out for wrestling".

"I'm not sure yet",i told her.

"You should",was all she said before she walked away.

I then turned to Conor and looked at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?",he asked.

"Are you and Abeke together?",i asked him.

"No",he said with a straight face.

"You like her though, don't you?",i asked him.

"How do you know that i like her like that and not like a friend?",he asked me, turning to me.

"Because of the way you hugged her and that way she hugged you. How long have you known each other?",i asked him.

"Six and a half years",he told me."She moved here in the 6th grade. We met because i was the person who was showing her around. We had a lot in common and became really good friends. We have been best friends for all of these years and i have...strong feelings for her but...i don't think she has them for me".

"I think she does",i said.

Conor turned and looked at me. He shrugged."I have to go. See you tomorrow and think about joining wrestling".

With that Conor left. I stood in the hallway. I turned around and looked at the records behind me for basketball. I saw Meilins name and Abekes name up there. I then looked at the wrestling records to see that there was only two names.

Mark James and a kid named Ethan.

I opened my front door and walked into the house. I saw my mom at the kitchen table looking at her computer.

"How was school today?",she asked looking up from her computer.

"Good, i got into a fight though",i told her as i walked over to the refrigerator.

"Why did you get into a fight?",she asked.

"I didn't start it. This guy named Mark did and we both got sent to the principal's office. I didn't get into trouble but Mark did. In fact i was wondering what your thoughts are about wrestling?".

"My thought on wrestling…",she looked up at me."It is a dangerous sport that people get hurt in all of the time".

"What would you say if i joined?",i asked her as i sat down across from her.

"I would say that you are taking a big risk about this sport but it is up to you. If you want to join then you can but you have to promise me to be careful. Your dad-",she stopped talking as she said dad.

"What were you going to say about dad?",i asked her.

"What?Oh, nothing. It is your choice if you want to do it or not",was the last thing she said.

I walked up to my room and collapsed on my bed. Before i went to sleep i got up and walked over to a box in the corner of the room. I opened it and looked threw it. It was mostly things from middle school except for one thing. It was a certificate to wrestling. As i looked at the name and where it was from i knew what my answer was for tomorrow. I put the certificate in my backpack and went to my bed. I then closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Sorry it has taken me so long to do my stories i have been super busy with all sorts of things. I will try to keep up as best as i can.


	4. Chapter 4

Rollan's P.O.V.

I had decided to get up earlier than i actually would so i could go early to school and talk to Mr. Kidelson. I walked in the front doors to the school, barely anyone was here. I walked to hallway with the white walls. I walked all the way down to the last two doors. One was to the girls locker room the other one was to the weight room. I went into the weight room to see that the wrestling team was there and Kidelson was sitting at a desk in the corner of the room. I walked over to the desk. Kidelson looked up at me and smiled.

"You decided to join",he said.

I nodded."When do i start?".

"Tomorrow after school. We won't have it after school today because there is a special trip that all of the juniors get to go on to Adventureland in Altoona. Is you mom and dad OK with you joining?",he asked.

"My mom is OK with it",i told him.

He raised an eyebrow."And your dad?"

"Disappeared along time ago. He left when i was born",i said.

"I'm sorry",said Kidelson."So after school tomorrow at 3:30 don't be late of you have to run".

I turned around and left the room but not without getting a dirty look from Mark James who was doing pullups. I glared back at him and left without a word.

I walked down the hallway, took a left and kept walking towards the lunchroom. When i got there i saw Conor sitting with Meilin and Abeke. I sat down next to Conor.

"I saw to talking to Kidelson. Are you joining wrestling?",asked Conor.

"Yeah i am",I answered."Kidelson told me that juniors get to go to Adventureland today".

"It's junior appreciation day. They have a day for everything in this school. You should be lucky that you weren't here when you were a freshman. The seniors always prank the freshman on that day",said Meilin as the bell rang to go to class. All of us had band first period. When i walked into the band room Conor handed me a trumpet.

"Who is the band teacher?",i asked him as we got out our trumpets.

"Mr. Weeks. He is really tall and a nice guy",said Conor as Mr. Weeks came in the room.

"How do you play the trumpet?",i asked him.

"I can show you how",said a voice behind me.

I turned around to see Meilin."You play the trumpet?"

"What did you think i played the flute?",she asked.

I shrugged as i also saw Abeke with a trumpet. Meilin showed me how to play most of the notes that they have learned so far.

After band all of the juniors that were in the school, except for the ones with missing work got on one of the 3 buses. I sat by Conor. In the seat next to us were Meilin and Abeke. The whole rid there Abeke and Conor were talking.

I have never been to Altoona or Adventureland. I suspected Adventureland to be a smaller amusement park than i actually was. The teacher that was on our bus said that we need to be in groups of 4 or more and at least one of us has to have a phone. You can already kind of guess who was in my group. We decided to start close to the back of the park by the Dragon which is a roller costar that goes upside down twice. When we got in the ride, Conor and Abeke sat in front of us and i sat by Meilin, i noticed that Meilin was breathing hard as the roller costar started to go up.

"Meilin are you OK?",i asked my voice full of concern which was new for me.

She nodded but i could tell that that she was scared but i didn't know why. It took me a while but i got it.

"You're scared of heights aren't you?",i asked her.

She nodded and turned her head away.

"If it makes you feel better i don't like horses",i told her.

She turned to me and smiled,"You are scared of horses".

"Yeah",i said as we got closer to the top."If you are scared you can...hold my hand".

I expected her to slap me or something not actually take my hand and hold it. I thought for sure my hand was broken.

For the rest of the day my hand hurt from that ride. We went on all of the rides and any time we went on a roller coaster my hand got hurt more. Let's just say that my hand is 3 times the size. I also noticed that Conor and Abeke had gotten closer. I told Conor that he should ask her out, he said he would try but probably fail.

The day went by fast and who knew that the teacher that was with us was Mr. Horgan and before we left to go home he gave us homework.

As i was walking towards my car i was stopped my Meilin.

"Do you want me to help you with that?',she asked gesturing to the piece of homework in my hand."I told you i would tutor you tonight".

"Sure",i said."Do you need a ride to my house?"

"Yeah",she said as we both got into the jeep.

"So, do you walk to school or what?",i asked her as i pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive to my house.

"I walk to school because i only live two blocks away and my dad says i need the exercise",she told me.

"What does your mom say about that?",i asked her.

"My mom died when i was born",she said quietly.

"I'm sorry",i told her."My dad left after i was born".

"Looks like we have something in common",she said as i pulled up to my house."This is your house?"

"Yep. Home sweet home",i said as i turned the car off and we both got out.

We walked up to my house and i opened the door to see my mom at the table on her computer again.

"Hey mom. This is my tutor Meilin",i said as Meilin stood next to me.

My mom got up and gave Meilin a hug."It's nice to meet you".

"It's nice to meet you to…",Meilin looked over at me for a name.

Before i could answer my mom said,"Aidana. Rollans room is upstairs, take a left then it is the only door on the right. I have to talk to Rollan for a second and then he will be up".

Meilin left the room and went up the stairs.

"What did you want to talk about mom?",i asked her.

"Did the school give you her as your tutor or did you pick her?",she asked me.

"The school chose her",i told my mom.

"I like her",she said.

"You just met her".

"I know, i know. I want you to take care of her",she said.

"You make it sound like we are dating",i told her.

She shrugged and said,"You can go now".

I left the room and went up to my bedroom. When i got there is saw Meilin sitting on my bed on her phone. When she saw me she put her phone away and moved over so i could sit down. I grabbed a hardcover book and a pencil. I then sat down next to her with my homework on the book.

"You want to add 5 to that then you want to add 5 to the answer. Then you bring down everything and divide it by 8 and that is your answer for x",she explained to me.

"Hey Meilin is there anything else i should know about you or your family?",i asked her.

"My dad is in the army and is in Afghanistan right now",she said.

"How long has he been there?",i asked her as i moved onto the next problem.

"He has been gone for...7 years",she said.

"Doesn't he get to come back for some holidays?",i asked her.

"He wants to but they don't let him for some reason",she told me.

When i finished my homework i took Meilin home.

"Thanks for taking me home",she said as she got unbuckled.

"No problem. Thanks for helping me with math",i told her as she got out of the car and walked up to her house.

Before she went inside she gave me a small wave. I waved back. I then drove home and went to bed.

I was woken up by my phone ringing. I looked over at my clock and saw that is was 2 in the morning. I answered my phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rollan",i heard a male voice say.

"Who is this?",i asked.

"Conor".

"Why are you calling me at 2 in the morning?"

"It's Meilin".

"What happened to her?"

"She…",he stopped.

"She what?"

"Just figured out that...her dad died".


	5. Chapter 5

Happy Birthday to Rogerzheng whose birthday is on the 20th. Hope you have a great day!

Rollan's P.O.V.

If the police were out right now i would have at least 7 tickets. I was going 40 over the speed limit. When i arrived i saw that Abeke and Conor's cars were there. I jumped out of my car and ran into her house. I then ran upstairs where i saw one door open. I walked over to the door and looked inside to see Abeke hugging Meilin and Conor rubbing Meilin's back.

I walked into the room and knelled at the bed in front of Meilin.

"How long have you guys been here?",i asked Abeke and Conor.

"Like an hour and a half",answered Conor.

"You guys should go. I will stay here with her",i told them.

"Are you sure?",asked Abeke.

I nodded."You guys need to get sleep. We have school tomorrow, well...at least us three do. Meilin shouldn't go. She will probably need a couple of days to take a break and to get everything back to normal".

Abeke and Conor gave Meilin one last hug before they left. As they left i closed the door behind them. When i looked at Meilin i saw that she didn't have any tears coming down her face. I walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"When did you get the news about...your dad?",i asked her quietly.

"At 11:00",she told me."A guy that worked with my dad came to my door and told me".

"I'm so sorry Meilin",i told her hugging her tightly.

She relaxed into the embrace and put her face in the crook of my neck while i held her. She was breathing heavily.

"I'm surprised your not crying. I think i cried when i heard that my dad left even though i really didn't get to know him...or even see him",i said as i squeezed her.

"When my dad was still around and he lived here he always said that crying showed weakness and you don't want to show weakness around people or when you are alone",she said.

"You know me. You can cry in front of me, i won't judge you at all  
",i told her.

"But i don't have to cry",Meilin said separating from me a little bit.

"Meilin, you just lost your dad",i said to her pulling her close again.

"Why do you care so much?",she asked me, looking straight into my eyes.

"I...i don't know why",i told her."You should get some rest. Even though you don't have to go to school tomorrow, you still need to get some sleep".

I then stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?",asked Meilin.

"I'm going to go back home",i told her.

"Will you please stay with me?",she asked me.

"Sure",i answered.

I walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge. Meilin then laid down and closed her eyes while i reached over and rubbed her back. In a matter of seconds i was also asleep.

When i woke up i noticed that the sun was just now starting to come up. I tried to get up and stretch but i noticed that i could only more one of my arms. I looked down to see that Meilin was right next to me. And i mean RIGHT next to me. How did i even get into this position. If anything i should have fallen asleep on the floor. I gently shook her awake. When her eyes opened i could tell she was shocked.

"Why are you cuddling me?",she asked.

"I'm not cuddling you, you're cuddling me",i told her.

"Then why is your arm around me?",she asked.

"It's not technically around you. You are laying on my arm and i can't feel it",i answered.

"Can we both just calm down for a second?",she asked.

"Yes",i screamed."Sorry".

"We need to get ready for school",she said as she got off of the bed.

"You are going to stay home",i told her.

"You're not the boss of me. I can do whatever i want",she said.

I grabbed her arm which made her look at me."Meilin please stay here".

"Why are you so gentle with me?",she asked.

I shrugged."That is just how i am".

I got off of the bed and walked over to the door of the room.

"Where are you going?",Meilin asked me.

"To school unlike you who is going to stay in bed until i come back here at 5:15".

"That is so long though. What if i have to go to the bathroom?"

"Then get out of bed go to the bathroom and then get back into bed. Do i have to explain any more?"i asked her as she laid back in bed.

"No but before you go can you give me a favor?",she asked me.

"Sure what is it?"

"I need food",she said as i smiled.

After i went to McDonald's for Meilin i went to school for early weight lifting. When i got in there i saw that Conor was there. Conor never told me he wrestled. Or maybe he did i forgot. I forget a lot of things. I walked over to him.

"Hey. How is Meilin?",he asked me.

"She's...better than she was when you guys were still there",i told him."Meilin wanted to come to school but i told her to stay home and rest and that i would be back later".

"Have you ever wrestled before?",asked Conor.

I shook my head."Only basketball, track and field, and baseball".

"You don't play soccer?",he asked.

"I tried to but it was so boring i quit",i told him.

"Soccer is the number 1 sport around here. They are always building new fields and taking out farm land and putting more and more in. The sad part is there is probably more soccer fields than there is people here",he said.

"So where is Kidelson?",i asked him.

"He is helping the freshmen",said Conor."I could teach you the basics but that would be it. The coaches would have to teach you the rest. I could teach you at practice to night. Everyday in the morning we do lifting then at the end of school we have practice. For every minute you are late to practice you have to run 2 laps around the track."

"So the message is don't be late to practice",i said.

"And don't miss practice",said Conor.

"What is the punishment for that?"he asked.

Conor smiled."You don't want to know".

The rest of school went by fast. I only had 2 things of homework. One thing for math and one thing for Language Arts. Both i will need a little bit of help with.

I grabbed my bag out of my locker and headed down to the weight room where i would meet Conor. When i got there i saw that he was talking to Abeke. When Conor saw me he gave Abeke a hug and walked over to me.

"Ready for practice?",he asked.

"Sure. Where do we practice?",he asked as i followed him outside of the school.

"There is a building on the west side of the track. That is the wrestling room and football lockers. The soccer players also use it but they want their own",said Conor as we crossed the street and started to walk beside the fence that separated the practice fields for soccer and the track.

When we got to the building i saw Mark coming from the other direction. He gave me a dirty look.

"What do you think you are doing here?",he asked.

Before i could answer Conor said,"Mark. Back off".

Conor stood 3 inches taller than Mark did and I'm pretty sure Conor was stronger. When Mark saw Conor stand up to him, he shut up and went inside the wrestling room.

"Mark is and idiot",Conor said as we also walked into the room.

When we got into the room there were lockers on the right side of us and in front of us. To the left of us was a door that was open and inside were 3 wrestling mats. There were about 10 other people in there. I walked into the room and saw that Kidelson was walking towards me.

"I'm guessing Conor told you about being late to practice and everything like that",he said.

"Yep",i told him.

"Good. For the first part we are just going to warm up and do some simple exercises then we will break off into groups and do bigger things. Conor will show you the basics and when you are done with that come to me and i will show you more advanced moves that will come in handy for meets. By any chance do you know how much you weigh?"

"I have no clue",i answered.

"Come with me real quick",he said.

I followed him around the group of lockers. On the other side were two doors that said bathrooms on them and a desk that had a scale next to it.

"Step on the scale",he said.

I stepped onto the scale. It read 159.8.

"It looks like you are in the middle class for wrestling so it is a good thing that Conor is teaching you. He is in the same class",said Kidelson as we went back to the room where all of the mats were."Do you have any wrestling shoes?"

I shook my head."Didn't have any time to buy some".

"I think you could borrow a pair from the school for a little bit but you need to buy a pair soon",he said as he pulled out a pair of wrestling shoes that were in a locker. They were blue with a white stripe on both sides.

"Thanks",i told him.

He smiled."Just don't ruin them. The school bought them and if they get ruined then you will have to pay for a new pair".

I nodded as i put them on. I then followed him into the wrestling room with the mats.

"OK everyone line up",yelled Kidelson."You guys know the warm ups. Do them right the first time then you won't have to run laps".

The warm ups were pretty much stretches. After those we did exercises that helped with our reflexes and how to read our opponents. Then i followed Conor to the last mat in the room with another coach named Mr. Handson. He is 5'2 with short brown hair. He reminds me of a short body builder.

"OK so the first thing we have to get down is your stance. You play basketball right?",asked Mr. Handson.

"Yeah",i told him.

"OK so it is like a defensive stance. You want to watch there waist. That will show you not just there next move but how they plan to use that move on you. When you are taking someone down you want to most of the time go for there feet and legs. When you go for there feet they will get unstable and fall to the floor. Now i want you to try and take Conor down. Conor go easy on him",said Mr. Handson.

Conor and i both got into a stance. Right away he went for my legs. I fell down hard on the mat.

"Remember it isn't about how you fall down, it is about how you get back up. Do you get back up looking weak to your enemy or do you get up confident and look him in the eye giving him the message that you are not weak and that you can take him on any way on any day",said Mr. Handson.

I got back up and...i got tackled again. This went on for most of practice. Conor took me down most of the time but i got him down...once. I was pretty proud of that one time.

After that Mr. Handson showed me a couple of strategies to use against certain people. Once i got those down Kidelson told us to meet in the middle mat.

"We have a meet that is coming up in two days. It is on Friday at Johnston. We have two matches to go through to see who will wrestle this time and who will sit out. The first one is Abner verses Tyler on mat other match is Mark verses Conor on mat remember to wear your head gear. I don't want someone to get hurt",said Kidelson as most of the kids, including me, walked over to mat 3 where Mark and Conor would go against each other. We all sat down on the outside of the handsome made them shake hands before getting ready.

"The first one to pin the other wins. We will not be keeping points or going into a second round and remember not pulling on each others cloths to make the other person fall down. Begin!",said Mr. Handson.

Conor and Mark went in one circle before one of them attacked. Mark was the first one to make a move. He went straight for Conors legs. Conor got out of the way and jumped on Marks back to give him a better chance at flipping Mark. As Conor had Mark on his side Mark flipped towards Conor causing him to fall back on his back. Conor was quick to recover but he didn't get a chance to stand up before Mark threw him back on the mat. Conor was now on his side as Mark tried to flip him. Conor did the same thing Mark did and turned towards Mark but this time Mark was to close to Conor and ended up straight on his back as Conor threw himself on him to try and hold him down. Mark arched his back to ware he couldn't get pinned .Conor noticed it and put more presher on him. Now all of Marks back was on the mat. Mr. Handson slammed his hand on the mat 3 times before he blew his wistel. Both Mark and Conor got up. Mr. Handson raised Conors hand to show that he won.

"Conor will fight in the meet at Johnston",he declared.

Conor smiled and i followed him out of the room. We grabbed our bags from two of the lockers.

"Is that the first time you have gone against Mark?",i asked Conor as we left the building.

He shook his head."I have gone against him 4 or 5 times to get into a meet. We are the same weight so it makes it hard for both of us to go to a meet and find more than one group that is our weight".

"Rollan wait!",i heard someone say from behind us.

I turned to see Kidelson jogging to us."What do you need coach?"

"I wanted to tell you that you will be wrestling at Johnston you just need to do one thing",he said.

"What is that?",i asked him.

"You need to lose at least 7 or 8 pounds in the next day",he told me.

"OK. I think i will be able to do that. What happens if i don't lose that much?",i asked him.

"Then we will have to bump you up to the 165 and 170 category which i don't think you are ready for",he told me.

"OK",i said as he left and Conor and i continued to walk back to the school.

When we got back to the school we went to our lockers but not without me seeing Meilin at her locker with Abeke.

"What are you doing here Meilin?",i asked her.

"I came to watch practice, calm down",she told me.

"I told you to stay home and in bed. It doesn't look like you are in bed or resting",i said.

"I just came to watch and that was it. I am going home now",she said as she started to walk down the hallway.

"See you tomorrow guys",i said to Abeke and Conor.

I ran to catch up with Meilin who was just leaving the building.

"Can i at least give you a ride home?",i asked.

"Why not",she said as she followed me to my car.

We both got in and i started to drive to her house. When we got there i also got out of the car with her and walked her up to her door.

"Are you just going to stay here by yourself?",i asked her.

"Yeah. I don't have anyone to stay with",she told me.

"I have a spare bedroom you can stay in at my house",i suggested.

"No it's OK. I don't want to get in the way or anything. Believe me i will be fine staying here by myself. Besides i have been in this house for a long time by myself",she said.

"No",i said."I am commanding you to stay at my house. My mom won't care. She really likes you even though she has only met you once".

She shook her head."I don't-"

"Please",i interrupted her.

"Fine. Let me get a change of cloths and some other things i will need. I will be back out in a second",she said as she walked into her house and i walked back to my car and got in.

Ten minutes later she was out with a backpack.

"Got everything you need?"i asked her.

"Yep",she answered.

When we got to my house and walked in the door i saw my mom.

"Hey mom",i said."Meilin is going to be staying in our spare bedroom. Her father...passed away a few days ago".

"Oh, honey i am so sorry to hear about that",said my mom as she gave Meilin a hug."Stay here as long as you need".

I showed Meilin the spare bedroom. I walked over to a closet and got out some blankets and pillows for her to use since there were none on the bed. When i got back in the room i saw that she was already asleep. I lifted her head up a little bit and placed a pillow underneath. Then i threw the blanket over her lean body.

"Goodnight Meilin",i whispered. Then something i would have never done, i did. I gave her a gentle kiss on her temple and walked out of the room closing the door quietly.

I walked back into my room, closing the door quietly, and walked over to a box in the corner of the room. I then pulled out the wrestling certificate that i had looked at days ago. I then put it back and laid down in my bed looking at the ceiling. I was out like a light in a matter of moments.

I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock. I shut it off and quickly got changed after taking a shower. When i walked out of my room i went to the room that Meilin was sleeping in. When i opened the door i saw that she was still sleeping. I walked over to her and shook her lightly. She woke up right away.

"I have early weights but if you want to come with me you can or i could come back and get you",i said.

"I will come with you and just go and shoot at the gym",she said as i left her room so she could get changed.

I went downstairs to see my mom had made some toast for all of us.

"Did you wake Meilin up?",she asked.

"Yeah i did",i answered right as Meilin came down the stairs.

"Ready to go?",i asked Meilin.

She nodded her head as she grabbed a piece of toast and we left.

We walked into school to see Abeke and Conor .Conor had his head down and when he looked up he looked flustered and mad. I could tell Abeke was trying to calm him down but it wasn't working.

"Hey Conor what's up?",i asked him.

"I just figured out that i am going against two of the best wrestlers in my group",he said."They have beat me every year".

"Who are they?",i asked him.

"There names are Devin and Shane."


	6. Chapter 6

Rollans P.O.V.

"They can't be that good can they?",i asked him.

"Last year they were both ranked nationally. They were both in the top 15 in the country. They also broke records that not even college wrestlers could break. I have had to go against them in almost every meet and that is why i don't move on from districts when i go there",said Conor putting his head back down on the table."They also have a huge grudge on me".

"Why would they have a grudge on you?",i asked as Meilin and i sat down across from him and Abeke.

"They used to go to this school. I think it was our freshmen year when i actually beat both of them at something. We were doing scrimmages to see if we would suit up for varsity and only two people made it on the team. That was me and well somehow Mark. From that point on i had started to beat both of them in anything and everything. One day during wrestling practice Kidleson put me against both of them. I barely beat both of them but i did and i got to wrestle in the ADM meet that was coming up. After practice they followed me back to the school to my locker. They…",he stopped talking and started to shake."They said that they weren't going to get beat by me ever again and then left".

Conor then got up and started to walk away.

"Conor where are you going?",asked Meilin.

He kept walking.

"Where is he going?",i asked Abeke who was watching him leave.

"I don't know but you should probably leave him alone for awhile",said Abeke."Just give him some time to breath. I will go and talk to him after school before you guys got to your meet".

"Has this happened before?",i asked her.

"A couple of times",she answered as the bell rang and we went to our first class.

The bell rang and right away i got out of my seat to go to my locker. When i got to my locker i saw that Conor was walking towards me.

"Hey Conor has Abeke talked to you?",i asked him.

He shook his head.

"Wait outside of the bus i need to talk to you",i told him as he walked past me and to the exit of the school to get on the bus.

After i grabbed my stuff from my locker i headed out to the bus. Conor was right next to it leaning against the side.

"What did you want to talk about?",he asked me.

"What happened this morning?"

"What do you mean?",he asked questionably.

"This morning when you were talking about Shane and Devin you had started to shake and then you left",i said."Did they do something or say something that hurt you really badly or what?"

"Can you keep a secret?",he asked me.

I nodded my head.

"When they followed me to my locker they just didn't talk to me. Shane threw me against the locker while Devin punched and kicked me. Devin then pulled a knife on me and cut me on my arms, back and chest. They said that if i told anyone about what they did then they would come back and do worse. So i didn't go to school for a whole week. Everyone was worried about me and asked why i was gone. I just told them i had gotten really sick. For the next few weeks i wore long sleeves to hide the scars that Devin made",said Conor."Please don't tell anyone. Especially Abeke. She was the one who was worried the most".

"Dude, why didn't you tell anyone?",i asked him.

"Because i don't want Shane or Devin to come back and hurt me or worse hurt you, Meilin, or...Abeke",he told me as we got onto the bus.

"But still how could you not tell anyone?",i asked again.

"Can we not talk about it anymore i don't want anyone to overhear us. Besides you get you wrestling suit today",he said."Did you do what Kidleson told you to do and loss weight so he didn't have to bump you up to a higher weight class?"

"Crap, that's what i forgot to do",i said.

"Do you think that you will be able to wrestle people who are about 1o or 15 pounds heavier than you and probably stronger?"

"Maybe i can run around the school or something like that",i told him as Kidleson took attendance.

Kidleson then walked back to me and handed me something in a bag. I took it out to see it was the wrestling suit.

"How do you even wear these things?They look so tight",i told Conor.

"They are tight",he said.

The bus then started and pulled out of the school parking lot. The bus took a left onto a street that was across from the softball and baseball fields. The bus traveled on that street for about 2 miles before it took a left down a street that was on a hill. When the bus reached the bottom on the hill it took a left onto the main road that lead out of town.

We traveled on that road for about 30 minutes before we took a right to go into Johnston. When we reached the high school the bus dropped us off in front. We walked into the school to be met by 6 doors 10 feet in front of us. We opened one of the doors and saw the gym. There were two wrestling mats on the gym. Tons of people filled the stands and were on the mats warming up. We followed Kidleson to the last mat and to the stands on the left.

"Set your things down here and go and warm up",he said as we put our things down.

Kidleson walked over to me."I already wrote you down for the 165 weight class. I think you are strong enough to go against them. There is only 5 people in the class and you will go against all of them".

I nodded my head and walked over to the mats to warm up.

After i warmed up everyone got off of the two mats. A guy over the intercom started to talk.

"Welcome everyone to Johnston. The schools that are competing in this meet are the Ballard Bombers, ADM Tigers, Bondurant Blue Jays, Dallas Center Grimes Mustangs(DCG), Perry Blue Jays, and your Johnston Dragons. Please stand and remove your hats for the Pledge of Allegiance."

After the pledge the guy over the inter com said for people of light weight to get ready. Conor walked over to me and sat down next to me.

"How long until you go on?",i asked him as a kid from Perry that weighs 120 went on to wrestle a kid from ADM.

"I will go after you. I am still in the middle class like you but i am 175 and you are in the 165",Conor said as he looked behind me and smiled.

I looked at where he was looking and saw a guy that was a little bit taller than Conor. He looked like he was in his had dark blond hair that was cut short and a short cut beard that was graying. He sat behind us and put his hands on Conors shoulders.

"Are you ready to take Shane and Devin down?",he asked Conor.

Conor nodded and looked at me."Rollan this is my dad, Fenray".

Fenray looked at me and held out his hand. I shook it."Nice to meet you Rollan".

"Nice to meet you too",i said as he got up and walked away.

Behind me i heard someone say,"When do you wrestle?"

I looked behind to see Meilin with her arms crossed and looking at me."How did you get here?"

"Abeke drove me",she answered sitting down next to me as Abeke walked around us and sat next to Conor.

"Why are you here?",i asked her.

"I came to watch you guys wrestle. Conor always came to our basketball, softball, and track meets and we always came to his basketball, baseball, track, and wrestling meets",said Meilin.

"How long have you guys done that?",i asked her.

"Ever since 7th grade when we were aloud to play sports",said Abeke.

Kidleson walked over to us and stopped in front of me."You're up".

I followed him to the corner of the mat in front of us. I took off my sweats and sweatshirt. Kidleson handed me a pair of blue headgear.

"The guy you are going against is 3 pounds more than you but is the same height as you. I watched him earlier he tends to take an extra step before he attacks. When he takes that step you have about 2 seconds to make a powerful move that will throw him off balance. I saw attack his legs and as he is falling down flip him around onto his back",said Kidleson as i put the headgear on.

I turned and walked to the center of the mat where a ref was and a guy from ADM was.

"OK i want a clean fight. No headgear pulling or pulling on your suits. Shake hands and get ready",he said as we shook hands and backed up a little bit and got into our stances.

He blew the whistle and right away the guy went for my legs. He got me off balance and i fell down. I was on my side as he tried to flip me over. Right then i did something stupid. I rolled onto my back real quick and onto my other side as he tried to keep my on my back. I quickly got up and so did he. We went around in one circle before he did what Kidleson said he would do. He took an extra step and i attacked. Right as he fell down i flipped him over but he arched his back to make for sure he didn't get pinned. Then a whistle blew. We both stopped and got up. I looked over at a board that said a score. I saw that it was tied 5 to 5.I walked over to Kidleson.

He handed me some water and said,"You're doing good but you need to attack faster. This time i want you to attack first. This time grab his arm pull him in and then tackle him. This will be the easiest guy you will go against tonight".

I then went back into the match. The ref blew the whistle again and we started. Right away as he reached over i grabbed his arm pulled him and flipped him to the side causing him to go off balance and fall down onto the mat. Right then as he was trying to get up he turned off of his side and left himself unprotected. Then i tackled him. Causing him to lose his strengths in his arms and made his back go against the mat. I heard 3 pounds on the mat before the whistle blew. I got off of him and stood next to him as the ref grabbed one of our arms. He then held up my hand in victory. I then shook hands with the other guy and walked off of the mat towards Kidleson.

"Good job you just won your first match",he said i out my sweatpants and sweatshirt back on.

I walked back over to Conor, Abeke, and Meilin.

"Good job",said Conor i stood in front of them and took off my headgear.

Meilin walked up to me and...hugged me.

"Good job",she said as we separated.

"Thanks",i said looking into her amazing brown eyes. Wait, did i just think her eyes are amazing?

"Hey Rollan",i heard someone say behind me.

I turned to see Kidleson coming towards me."Your next match is up".

I nodded and followed him to the mat.

When Kidleson had said that the first guy i went against was going to be the easiest he wasn't joking. The next 4 guys i went against were huge compared to me. I only ended up pinning one of them. The other ones squashed me like a bug. Kidleson did say that i did good so that lifted my spirits...a little bit. Right now i was sitting down next to Meilin and Abeke as people from Johnston took out one of the mats and placed the other one in the middle of the court.

I looked over to the other side of the mat and saw 4 guys. Two of them were from ADM and the other ones were from Dallas Center Grimes(DCG).I looked over at the other side and saw Kidleson talking to Conor. Conor then walked out onto the mat and was met by a guy that looked exactly like him but he was wearing a DCG

"Is that guy Shane?",i asked Abeke.

"Yeah",said Abeke as Conor and Shane shook hands but Shane squeezed Conors hand really tight and whispered something from between his clenched teeth.

The ref then blew the whistle and right away Shane tackled Conor hard to the mat hard and outside of the circle that they were supposed to stay in. The ref blew his whistle and Shane sighed. He then got down on his knees on the mat. Conor grabbed his arm from behind and got ready for the ref to blow the whistle. Right when the ref blew the whistle Shane rolled to the left making Conor let go of his arm but Shane caught his foot with his hand flipping him over with him. As they both fell Shane got out of the way and pushed Conor down with his elbow and arm. Conor tried to get up but couldn't. The ref slammed his fist down on the mat 3 times to signal that the match was over. They both stood by the ref as the ref raised Shanes hand. Conor turned to shake Shanes hand but Shane was already off of the mat. Conor turned and walked back to Kidleson. Conor then started to follow Kidleson out of the gym.

There were three more matches that we watched before Conor came back into the room for the final match of the night. Him vs. Devin.

They both shook hands and the ref blew the whistle. Conor attacked him first going high to make him fall over harder. Devin didn't fall over, instead he pushed Conor back making him fall over and making Devin tackle him hard again. As i was watching them wrestle i saw Devin actually bite Conor in the arm making him move it so that Devin could flip him onto his side. By that point i think that Kidleson knew what Devin did. Conor got away from Devin and called a timeout. Kidleson walked over to the ref and started to talk to him. The ref shook his head and told Kidleson to go back to his corner of the mat and to calm down or Conor will be disqualified. Conor and Devin got ready to wrestle again. Right away Devin pulled Conor over his back and flipped him over, really hard onto his back. The ref blew his whistle and pointed to Devin as a medic came out to check out Conor who was groaning in pain.

"Disqualified for endangerment!",yelled the ref.

By that point Conor stood up and walked over to Kidleson. He put on a t-shirt and shorts over his suit and stood by Kidleson as the DCG coach was yelling at the ref. The ref shook his head and yelled at the coach to stand down or his whole team would be out of the meet. The coach gave up and walked away.

Kidleson walked over to us and said,"Get your stuff ready we are going".

"Wait Kidleson where is Conor?",i asked him.

"He went to go and talk to his dad. He isn't riding the bus home that's all i know",he said as the team followed him out of the gym and to the bus. I was at the back of the line walking with Abeke and Meilin.

"Hey Rollan do you want to ride back with us?",asked Abeke.

Before i could answer Conors dad came up to me."Is Conor on the bus?"

"Um...No. Kidleson told me he was going to talk to you",i answered.

"Well i have to get home because Conors brother did something stupid and got called on by the neighbors to the police. Just please call me when you find him and tell him to call me",said Fenray as he left.

"You guys go and look in the gym for him i will look around the school",i told Abeke and Meilin.

They nodded and left. I then started to walk around the school. As i was looked i saw some what i think is blood on the ground. I followed it to the back and saw Conor on the ground bleeding from multiple places on his body.

I ran over to him and knelled down in front of him.

"Conor what happened?",i asked him.

"Two people jumped me",he told me.

"Was is Shane and Devin?",i asked him.

He shook his head."The DCG bus was the first to leave and i saw both of them get on it. I don't know who did this".

"I should call someone",i pulled out my phone.

"No don't",said Conor grabbing my phone from me.

"Conor you hurt and are bleeding, from the looks of it you are also really bruised and hurt. I have to get someone here to help you",i said."Maybe i could call Abeke and Meilin. They are in the gym looking for you".

He shook his head."Help me get inside but keep me out of the way of people".

"Yeah whatev-".

"What happened?",i heard someone say from behind us.

I turned to see Abeke and Meilin. Abeke ran over to us and looked at Conor.

"Conor what happened?",she asked softly as she cupped his face in her hands.

"I'm fine",he said grabbing one of her hands that was on the side of her face.

"No your not. You hurt, how did this happen?",she asked.

"Two people jumped me-it was nothing",he said as Abeke helped him sit up.

"Meilin go and get the car. Rollan help me stand him up and get him in",Meilin raced off to go and get the car while Abeke and i got Conor on his feet.

About 2 minutes later Meilin pulled up in Abekes car. Abeke and i helped Conor get in the back of the car. Abeke sat next to him while i got in the front seat next to Meilin.

"Go to Conors house",said Abeke.

"OK",Meilin started to drive away from the school.

I looked back and saw Abeke holding Conor as he slept in her arms. I turned back and looked at Meilin to see her looking scared. I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

"He'll be OK",i whispered to her.

She nodded her head not looking away from the road. About 30 minutes later we reached Perry and took one of the back roads into the country. Meilin took a left onto a gravel road that lead up a hill. There was a house on our left but Meilin kept going taking a sharp right down a small hill. On our right was farmland and two houses and on our left was 3 more houses. We kept driving for about another mile before Meilin pulled into a driveway. On our left was a white house that was big and it was on a hill. Farther down the hill were farm houses were sheep and chickens were.

Right when Meilin turned the car off Conor woke up."Where are we?"

"We are at your house",said Abeke softly to him as he began to sit up.

"Before you go inside can you tell us anything about the people who jumped you?",i asked him.

"They were dressed in all black. One of them was taller than me the other one was shorter. One of them sounder familiar",said Conor.

"Who did he sound like?",asked Meilin.

"He sounded like...Mark".


	7. Chapter 7

Rollans P.O.V.

"Are you sure it was Mark?",i asked Conor who was falling asleep.

"It sounded like him and one of the guys were shorter than me and Mark is shorter than me",said Conor.

"Then who do you think was the other guy?",asked Meilin.

"I don't know. His voice didn't sound familiar. All i know is that he isn't a student",Conor answered.

"So you're saying he was an adult?",asked Abeke.

Conor nodded his head."But the thing is i don't know any adults who have a grudge on me or would do that to me".

"And you're sure that is wasn't Devin or Shane right?",i questioned.

"I'm sure",Conor started wincing in pain as he talked,"I saw both of them go on the bus and leave".

"We should probably get you inside and tell your parents what happened",i told him.

"That's not a good idea",Conor stated.

"Why not?",Meilin asked.

"We can't tell me parents what happened. They will do anything to find out who did this to me and they will ground me. I don't want to get grounded",he told us."I just need help inside and that is it".

"How do we get you inside without your parents knowing?",i asked.

"We'll take the back entrance",with that we all got out of the car, Abeke and i helping Conor while Meilin led the way to some stairs that went down the hill. When we reached the bottom of the stairs on our left was a pair of sliding doors with blinds so you can't see inside. Above us was a deck

"Conor where did you hide the spare key?",asked Meilin.

"What do you mean?",Conor asked her.

"The door is locked. Don't you guys have a spare key out here or something?"

Conor shook his head."That door is usually never locked".

"Then how do we get in?",asked Abeke.

"Meilin if you can climb onto the deck and open the door up there you can then get into the house, go down the stairs on the right and then take another right and open this door",Conor told Meilin.

"How do you know that that one will be unlocked?".

"Believe me. No one ever, ever locks that door".

"I need someone to give me a boost to reach the deck".

"I'll help you",i said to Meilin.

Meilin put her hands on my shoulders and one of her feet on my hands. I then pushed up with my hands. She got a hold of the bottom of the deck. She got one of her feet up and then the other. Hoping over the railing she whisper-shouted back,"Be back in a second."

"When we get inside we have to be really quiet because both of my brothers sleep downstairs",said Conor as Meilin opened up to door.

Right when we got inside on our left was a couch and a flat screen TV with Netflix on. On our right was another room that was separated from the one we are in know by a staircase. We went up the staircase, Meilin leading us.

"When we get to the top of the stairs on our right will be a hallway. We have to go down that hallway but be very careful. My parents room is down that hallway",Conor told us.

"Then where do you sleep?",i asked him.

"In the attic",he pointed to a door at the end of the hallway.

"That must be a nice place to sleep",I said.

"It's not that bad".

"Well, look who we have here",we heard someone say behind us.

It was a guy that had really dark blond hair. He looked maybe a couple of inches taller than Conor.

"What are you doing still up?",Conor asked him.

"I got hungry and i was worried about you. Besides, real question should be why were you home so late and why do you look like you got run over by and elephant?"

Conor didn't answer. He just stood with his head down looking at his shoes.

"Wait",the guy said,"Did you get into a fight again with Shane and Devin?"

Conor shook his head."Two guys jumped me at the wrestling meet. They beat me in an ally but i promise you it was nothing that hurt me badly".

"You said that last time",the other guy stated.

"Conor who is this guy?",i asked.

"He is my older brother, well one of my older brothers. I have two older brothers. Garrin and",Conor pointed to the guy that was in front of us,"Wallace".

"You must be Rollan",said Wallace to me."Conor has told me about you".

"Good things?"

Wallace nodded his head."Conor you should tell mom and dad what happened".

"Are you kidding me? If i told them about what happened they would ground me, go all over town trying to figure out who did it, and make me have an earlier curfew than i already do".

Wallace shrugged."Is that always a bad thing?"

"Yeah it is".

"Whatever. Just go get cleaned up and go to bed",with that Wallace walked down the stairs.

"I never knew you had brothers",i said to Conor as we quietly walked down the hallway to a door.

"You never asked",Conor opened the door to the room and we all walked up the stairs.

"Where is the first aid kit?",asked Abeke.

"There is a kit in the cabinet under my bed",said Conor.

"You guys can take my car and go. I will stay and help Conor out",said Abeke.

"Are you sure?",asked Meilin.

"Yeah. Just take my car",Abeke told us.

Meilin nodded and i followed her out of Conor's room. We then went out of the house and got into Abeke's car. Meilin got into the drivers seat and started down the gravel road back into town.

"Why do you think Mark would do this?",i asked her.

Meilin shrugged."I don't know why. Maybe it was because Conor beat him out in his weight class to wrestle today".

"Would he really do that?".

"Mark would do anything to get into the spot he wants. His dad used to go here. When my dad was...still here he went to school with Marks dad. He used to tell me that he would always try and break records and didn't even care about the team. One day Marks dad went against this guy named Ethan, i think that was his name, anyway he got beat and Ethan broke the record that Marks dad had been trying to break for 3 years. My dad told me that Marks dad told Mark to beat that record".

"Is that why Marks picture is next to that...Ethan guys?"

Meilin shook her head."Mark's picture is up there because his dad threatened to sue the school".

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he thought that Mark broke Ethan's record but believe me he was way off. No one will ever be able to break that record".

"Were your dad and...Ethan friends?"

"Yeah they were until Ethan left one day and my dad went into the army".

"Did your dad know why Ethan left?"

"No one knew why Ethan left. My dad said that the last words that Ethan said meant something to someone he just didn't know who".

"What were the last words?"

Meilin pulled into the driveway of the house and looked over at me."You want to know a lot about this Ethan guy don't you?"

I shrugged as we got out of the car."Just curious".

"My dad only told me some of what Ethan told him. Ethan gave him a code.5937, my dad never knew what the code was for",Meilin started as we walked into the house and up stairs,"my dad said it was for a safe that Ethan would give his family if or when he had one. One time when my dad got to call me he said that i would be getting some letters in the mail from Ethan and that i can't open them. He told me just to put them on his desk and...when he comes home he would...look at them".

"Let me guess you looked at one of them",i said as we both walked into my room and sat down on my bed.

"Yeah i did but only one of them",she pointed out."It really didn't say anything important. Just that he was not sure when he could come back. It turned out that he had a family but he left them. The weirdest thing about the letter was that is was supposed to go to...California and he said that he left a safe with his wife".

Right when i heard that i was out the door in less than a second running down the stairs, going threw the kitchen and down to the basement. I then walked over to a box that was labeled Do Not Open. Ripping the tape off of the box i ripped apart the box to reveal...a safe. All i did was stare at it.

"Rollan why did you…",Meilin came down the stairs and saw what was in front of me.

She sat down beside me."My mom told me never to look at this. I now know why",i looked over at Meilin,"She didn't want me to know that it was from...my dad".

"How do you know that he is your dad?",Meilin asked me.

"From all of the things you have said. I used to live in California, i never met my dad because he left before i was born, everything you have said adds up. Even the certificate that is in my room. It was for wrestling and it was from Perry. My dad is from Perry, my dad and you dad were friends",i turned back to the safe."The only thing left to do is to put the punch code in".

I put the code in. safe didn't open. I put it in again. The safe still didn't open. I did it again and again until Meilin stopped me.

"It doesn't work",she told me softly.

"What-no it has to. Everything else adds up, why doesn't this?".

Before i knew it tears had started to come down my face as Meilin pulled me into a hug.

"All i want to know is who my dad is",i whispered into her shoulder.

"Someday you will know",she told letting go of me.

I nodded and stood up."We should probably get to sleep. I know that we don't have school tomorrow but...it is getting late".

I started to go up the stairs when i noticed that Meilin wasn't following me. I turned around to see her still looking at the safe.

"I don't think you have laser vision to open that",i told her."Lets just go to sleep."

When i reached the top of the staircase i heard Meilin yell my name. I walked back down the stairs to see Meilin smiling at me.

"What?",i asked.

"I opened the safe. You were pushing the wrong button",she told me as i looked at the open safe.

In the safe were lots of letters, ribbons, certificates and a map. I didn't even get to look at all of the stuff before i heard my mom yell down at us",Meilin there is someone here for you".

I closed the safe and followed Meilin up the stairs. When we reached the top i saw that there was a guy at the door. When he turned around Meilin covered her mouth and stared at him in shock.

"Hello Meilin",he said in a deep voice that was soft and gentle.

All Meilin did was stare at him. She didn't move for some moments. All the guy did was smile at her.

All she said was,"...Dad…".

Sorry that was pretty boring. I promise you that the next chapter will be better.


	8. Chapter 8

(Disclaimer: This does include drugs/steroids so this is rated like T+ because of it and i just wanted to say don't do anything like that because you could get into trouble and it is just plain bad for you, so yeah...Don't do anything like that. Thank you for reading this and for your patience)

Rollan P.O.V.

Meilin stared at her father in shock."Dad…".

He smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. Meilin hugged him back tightly as i saw some tears escape her eyes.

"I thought you were...dead",she said pulling away.

"Who would give you that idea?",he questioned.

"A guy came to the house and told me",she answered.

He shook his head."It must have been meant for someone else. I was traveling around to National Guards all over the country. I wasn't even in a war zone or even near one".

"So you've been gone for about 10 years maybe less because i lost track and all of this time you have been traveling around the country and you couldn't even stop by once going to any of the surrounding guard stations".

"I had very strict rules",he said."I'm sorry and i want you to know that even though i was gone i still listened in on all of your games on the radio. I never missed one".

"When did you get back?"

"Just a little bit ago. When i saw that your weren't home i called Abeke and she told me you were here",he said."Now i have some questions but before i ask them why don't you go and get your stuff so we can head home".

Meilin nodded and left the room with my mom following her.

"You must be Rollan",i turned to look at Meilins father.

I nodded."How did you know my name?"

"Heard someone say it",he answered.

"And you just guessed it was me",i said.

He nodded."Why is Meilin staying here?"

"I didn't want her to be alone",i said.

"She has been alone for most her her life."

"So you're telling me that you haven't had any real memories with her?"

"I was never a very good father. I always pushed her like my dad pushed me. I want her to be strong so encase one day...i do die she is ready. But it was really hard",he took a deep breath,"every time i look at Meilin i see her mother. It was hard for Meilin growing up with only a father. It was even hard for me. For the first years of her life i had my mother help me take care of her until my mom passed away. By that time i thought that she would be strong enough for me to start training her because i knew i would be going back into the army soon. I am hoping that i will only have to go into the army one more time before i retire so that i will still have some time with Meilin before she moves away and goes on with her life."

He turned to me."So to answer your question no i really don't have any real memories to remember that weren't us training or doing something that she didn't like that would make her stronger".

"It was hard for me growing up with only a mother",i said quietly.

"You never knew your father".

I shook my head."He left before i was born. But i have heard that you knew who he was".

"I know many people and if you gave me his name maybe i might remember who he is".

"I think his name was Ethan".

He looked at me."I knew one guy named Ethan. And...you do look like him".

"Can you tell me what he was like?"

"I'm sorry",he started,"I can not tell you about him. Neither him or your mother would want me to".

"Why can't you?Did he do something bad and didn't want me to know about it?"

He shook his head."Your father never liked any one who talked about him so i made a promise never to."

By that time Meilin and my mom had came down the stairs. Meilin and he father left soon after we said an awkward goodbye. When they were out of the driveway and down the road my mom put a hand on my shoulder.

"You miss her already, don't you?"

I turned to her."What do you mean?"

She smiled."You miss Meilin. You miss the fact that she won't be staying with us anymore".

All i did was walk away."She is just a friend".

"Aw your first crush".

"No it's not",i screamed and ran upstairs slamming my door behind me. I then laid down on my bed and looked at the ceiling. Before i knew it i fell into a deep sleep.

Two days later on Monday

I woke up to my alarm at 7:00. I got ready, ran downstairs, told my mom goodbye, and then got into the car and drove to school. When i reached the school right away i saw that Meilin, Abeke, and even Conor were outside talking. I got out of my car and walked over to them.

"Feel better Conor?",i asked him.

He nodded."I still have pain in my side but i think that will go away soon".

"So what are you going to do about Mark?".

"Nothing right now",Conor answered as we all walking into the school.

"Why not?".

"I don't think that anyone would believe me so i will just keep it to myself for a little bit and if he bothers me again i will tell a teacher or something",said Conor as we walked down to our lockers.

The day went by pretty fast. No one saw Mark until the end of school when practice was about to start. Before practice while i was talking to Conor, Kittleson walked over to us.

"Hey Conor, i want you to move up in weight class",he then turned to me,"and you to move down."

"Why do you want me to move up?",asked Conor.

"Because you are strong enough to and,"Kittleson quieted his voice,"I really don't want to point out people but i have to on this one. Marks dad said that if Mark doesn't get to wrestle in his weight class then he will try to sue again and get me fired".

"He can't do that thought",i told him.

"Mark's dad is a cop and knows a lot of the teachers and school board well so he could do it and i don't want to take any chances",said Kittleson.

"What weight class am i moving up to?",asked Conor.

"From the 175 class you are now you will have to go up to...about 190 so you will now be classified as heavy weight,"said Kittleson.

"What about me?",i asked.

"You will move down to 155 and be classified as middle weight still",he told me.

"How do i lose that much?"

"Drink on about 2 liters of water per day and no junk food, preferable only light food like soup or salad and Conor,"he waved his hand,"eat whatever".

"How am i not supposed to eat real food? Food is like...life?",i told Conor.

He laughed."Have fun with that".

"I'm not going to have fun. This is going to be pure torture".

Conor looked at me."It's not that bad".

"Says the guy that gets to eat whatever he wants",i muttered.

Practice had gone by quick. Only at the end did things get good. Mark had to wrestle a guy that was 2 pounds less than him. Mark barely beat him and guess what the sad part was. He was a freshman and Mark is a junior. That's just sad. When Conor and i were packing up Mark came over to us.

"What do you want?",i asked him.

"Just wanted to see how my favorite fat person was doing?",he said looking at Conor.

"Excuse me?"

Mark smiled."Didn't you know that if your are classified at heavy weight you are also classified at fat".

"The reason he moved up is because he is better than you Mark",i told him.

"Stay out of this newbie! You only won one of your matches and barely",he growled.

"At least i didn't almost get beat by a freshman",i stated.

"I wasn't trying to beat that kid, i was giving him a chance".

"So is that why you almost got pinned by him?",asked Conor.

"You know what, both of you can shut up because i will be going to state this year while you two are left here in the dust",with that he left.

"He has really bad breath",i told Conor.

He smiled and turned around."Hey look at this".

I also turned around and saw a bag.

"I think that's Mark's bag",said Conor as he walked over to it.

Conor bent down and opened it."Rollan you're going to want to see this".

I walked over and bent down next to Conor and looked in the bag. In the bag were needles and plastic bags with pills in them.

"Mark is cheating",Conor said."He is using needles to inject steroids into him to make him stronger and using drugs to make himself tougher mentally".

"We have to tell Kittleson",i told him.

"You're not telling anyone, anything",we both turned around to see Mark with a gun in his hand."If you tell anyone i will kill both of you,"he pointed the gun to Conor,"You should have been dead in that alley."

Mark then pushed past us and walked away.

"What do we do?", i asked Conor.

"Nothing. Not yet at least".


End file.
